Pitching gets all the attention, but the hard part comes first: knowing who to pitch. A great pitch sent to a brand that never works with creators goes nowhere, while a mediocre one sent to a brand actively buying UGC gets a reply. Finding the right brands is a skill you can systematize. Here are seven places to look, and how to turn a scattered idea into a qualified target list.
Start with brands you already use and love
The warmest deals come from your own life. Open your bathroom cabinet, your kitchen, your gym bag — every product in there is a brand you can pitch with genuine enthusiasm, and authenticity is exactly what brands buy UGC for. You already know the product, so the content writes itself and the pitch sounds real instead of generic.
Make a fast list of everything you use weekly in your niche. A skincare creator can probably name a dozen brands without trying. Those are your first targets, because you can say — honestly — "I already use this every day," which is the single most convincing line in any pitch.
Find brands that already pay creators your size
The biggest shortcut in sourcing is to pitch brands that have already decided to spend on creators. You're not convincing them UGC works — they know. You just have to be the next creator they book.
- Creators like you are already tagging them. Scroll the sponsored and "paid partnership" posts of a handful of creators in your niche at a similar follower count. Every brand tagged has a budget and a track record of working with accounts your size.
- They're running paid ads. Open a brand's Instagram or TikTok and tap into the Meta or TikTok ad library. A brand paying to run creator-style video as ads needs a steady supply of it — and often licenses that footage from the creator who made it.
- They run affiliate programs and Amazon storefronts. Creators with Amazon storefronts and affiliate links are showing you exactly which brands run creator programs. Those same brands often pay flat rates for dedicated content, not just commission.
If you have a smaller following, this is the highest-leverage source you have — brands that already work with micro creators are the ones most likely to say yes to accounts your size. More on that in landing brand deals under 10K followers.
Look for brands with fresh budget
The last three sources are about timing — catching brands at the moment they most need content.
- Newer and DTC brands. Direct-to-consumer brands live and die on content, and the newer ones can't afford big studio shoots, so they lean on creators. They also move fast and often have a founder or small marketing team you can reach directly, with no agency in the way. Watch for brands that are newly launched, recently funded, or expanding to a new platform — a brand that just posted "we're now on TikTok" needs TikTok-native creators this month.
- Competitors of brands you already know. Every brand you use or have worked with has rivals fighting for the same shelf, and they watch each other's content closely. If one brand books creators, the others in its category almost certainly do too. Work sideways from any brand on your list to double it fast.
- Brands hiring for content. Some brands tell you outright that they're spending. Watch LinkedIn for "influencer marketing" or "UGC" job posts, founder communities where marketers ask for creators, and the gifting or PR lists brands use to seed product. Gifted product is often the on-ramp to a paid deal — see what gifted PR really is.
Build a target list of 20 to 30 brands
Sourcing works when it's written down. Open a simple tracker and, for each brand, capture the name, the best contact (founder, marketing email, or a real person on LinkedIn), how you found them, and a one-line reason they fit. Aim for 20 to 30 before you start pitching — pitching is a numbers game, and a healthy pipeline is what keeps a slow week from feeling like failure.
Keep the list in one place, not your head. Every brand you research, pitch, and follow up with is a moving part. Tracking it in one view — who you've contacted, who replied, who to nudge — is the difference between a real pipeline and a pile of forgotten DMs.
Qualify before you pitch
Not every brand on your list deserves a pitch. Spend two minutes qualifying each one so you only spend effort where a yes is realistic:
- Fit. Does the product actually match your niche and audience? A forced fit reads as spam.
- Budget signals. Are they running paid ads, reposting creator content, or running an ambassador program? Active marketing means money moving.
- Do they use creators at all? If a brand has never once featured a creator, you may be educating them from zero — possible, but slower. Prioritize the ones already primed to say yes.
Cut anything that fails on fit, rank the rest by how many budget signals they show, and start at the top of that list.
From list to pitch
A qualified list is only worth something once you send the message. Keep a strong creator profile ready so every brand you contact can see your work, rates, and past deals in one link — it does half the convincing for you. When you're ready to write, don't start from a blank page: the UGC pitch email template gives you a proven structure to adapt, and the full walkthrough lives in how to pitch to brands.
Start your free Plug Pro trial and keep every brand you source, pitch, and close in one pipeline.